Time for Reflection: Tadabbur

What would you do when you see beautiful things?

When something captures your attention, like beautiful scenery or meeting a person you’d never dream of before, public figure or something like that, you may have a “time-stop” moment. There are moments when the world moves slowly so that you can feel your mind stunned and wandered around. It made you think deeply, succeeded filling your void heart.

What about Quran?

Have you take a good look of it as you looking on something that captures your attention?

We need time for reflection. Everyone does. That is one of the important messages in the Qur’an: urge us to think, to ponder, to contemplate, to reflect ourselves in the revelation of Quran. The word in Arabic for “pondering” or “reflection” is Tadabbur.

Tadabbur derived from دبر which means the end or back and tail of something. Like the buttock of animals is itsdubur because usually that is the most end part of their body. Given by that, tadabbur is the process to urge people to ponder, think and contemplate something from the beginning to the end. It is the same way Allah used the word tadabbur in the Qur’an, to urge people to ponder, think and contemplate.

Take a look for these simple examples. There are only two verses (ayah) in the Qur’an using the form “yatadabbaroona”. Now it is time for you to ponder these remarkable verses below.

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ ۚ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًاAfala yatadabbaroona alqur-ana walaw kana min ‘indi ghayri Allahi lawajadoofeehiikhtilafan katheera. Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah , they would have found within it much contradiction. (QS. 4:82)

أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَاAfala yatadabbaroona alqur-ana am ‘ala quloobin aqfaluha. Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’an, or are there locks upon [their] hearts? (QS. 47:24)

When you try to find contradictions on something, it is about numbers, logics and statistics. It is clearly an intellectual problem. That is the first case (first ayah). On the other side, the second verse told us about the hearts, which indicates a spiritual problem. Thus, Allah wants us to tadabbur the Qur’an so that we can grasp benefit from it both intellectually and spiritually. The Qur’an addresses both our intellectual and spiritual side. Balanced.

The Muslims need tadabbur on the Qur’an. We need time for reflection. Anyone who takes the time to reflect on Qur’an will realize that there is no randomness in it. Just take a look for yourselves, read it and try to ponder upon it.